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The music has started, the decorations are going up, and each night, another house is lit up in the most festive of colors. If you ARE ready for some good ol’ fashioned Holiday cheer (so, basically unless you’re Scrooge?), hop across the bridge to Ballard and head down to the Nordic Heritage Museum’s Annual Yulefest this Saturday and Sunday, November 18th and 19th!

Yulefest features all things Scandinavian and all things holiday, making it the perfect event to get in that ’God Jul’ (Merry Christmas) spirit!

Enjoy traditional Nordic-inspired items from many different vendors, plenty of delicious Scandinavian sweet and savory treats at the Nordic Cafe (even get some to go for later!) and traditional and contemporary Nordic music and dance will be performed on three different stages.

Kids are encouraged to have fun and get crafty with plenty of kid-oriented crafts, a raffle and the opportunity to meet the man we all want a visit from in December, Santa Claus (or, Julenissen in Norwegian, Jultomten in Swedish)!

Grown-ups are also encouraged to have plenty of fun and toast the season in the Valhalla Beer Garden (which will be nice and toasty warm!) with a tasty beverage including the Nordic-fav hot mulled wine, glögg. Skål (cheers!) to that!

Yulefest is a wonderful celebration of culture, the holidays and community. If you’re ready for some serious holiday spirit, good food, fun music and maybe even some holiday shopping, Yulefest is the place to be!

In the midst of the digital age, many are astounded that film still even exists. Everyone has digital film and video capabilities, and film Is very expensive, so, why bother right?

While that may have been what you thought once upon a time, your mind will be forever changed once you see the brilliant art made on and with film by artist Jennifer West at her Seattle Art Museum installation “Film Is Dead”.

In this revolutionarily inventive show, West uses 70mm, 35mm and 16mm analog film strips to create beautiful and visually compelling works of art. She treats the film with common household items including food coloring, nail polish, coffee, vinegar, bleach and more to create patterns and unplanned but stunning effects by eroding the films emulsion, staining it and letting the film take one whatever characters it might.

West’s SAM exhibit features film strips and remnants that have been treated and manipulated by the artist in this way, hung from the ceiling, and spanning almost the entire length of the gallery.

In addition to the physical installation at SAM, West has taken many of these works and digitized them to create a film that explores the differences and relationship between the analog and digital qualities of the film medium, creating another layer to this thought provoking artistic experiment.

Jennifer West is a Los Angeles based artist with some history in the Seattle. West received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Evergreen State College in Olympia before returning to her home state of California to earn her Masters in Fine Arts from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena.

West’s works have been displayed in various solo and group exhibitions across the country and the world including Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Lisa Cooley Gallery, New York, NY, Yuz Museum, Shanghai, China, Contemporary Art Museum, Houston, Transmission Gallery, Glasgow, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Portland, OR and many more.

Her love affair with film dates back more than ten years and she boasts a very interesting and varied portfolio of works including photographic and video works using different and rare types of film and film techniques, light play, performance and her unique film quilts and magic lantern works. West’s style and aesthetic are likely different from any you’ve seen before, exploring and challenging the differences between modern digital photographic art and classic analog film techniques. Her style simultaneously evokes nostalgic feelings and encapsulates a modern and almost futuristic aesthetic, and over all seems to challenge films obsoleteness and the digital waves supremacy.

If you share a love of visual arts, interesting techniques, the fusion of arts and science or simply subscribe to the thought that everything old is new again, “Film Is Dead” is a show worth seeing, if for no other reason than to see something beautiful before it’s gone.

Many in Seattle question whether it’s worth investing time and money in solar panels given that Seattle isn’t known for its constant sunny days. Keith Hughes, owner of West Seattle Natural Energy, pointed out that, “Berlin, Germany receives 3.2 peak sun hours per day, and 44 percent of Germany’s energy production comes from solar” where as “Seattle receives 3.8 peak hours of sunlight per day and only 1½ percent of its energy comes from solar power.”

Seattle City Light and Northwest Sustainable Energy for Economic Development (Northwest SEED) are working together to promote and change the way Seattle uses renewable energy through their Washington initiative. The goal is to change one neighborhood at a time and to have 150 solar systems operating by the summer 2013 . Projects have already been done Queen Anne and Magnolia as well as other Seattle neighborhoods. When a community agrees to go solar Northwest SEED searches for vendors that will give bulk discount for supplies and installation to the homeowners. Each neighborhood is set up on a grid so that the energy that is not used by one homeowner will flow to other neighbors within the grid.

It is estimated that in the past two years Washington has pumped nearly $4 million into the local economy, created 14 new jobs and has generated more than 600 kilowatts of solar electricity to Seattle’s grid. Seattle City Light estimates that only 600 out of its 400,000 customers use solar energy. Benefits of using solar panels are tax credits and rebates as well as lower energy bills. Living in Seattle helps a little too. Seattle’s annual lower temperatures allow the solar panels to work better and the rain washes them off.

It is difficult to find this low of a price point in this neighborhood of Seattle! This three-level townhouse is available in the beautiful neighborhood of Magnolia. This area is known for its family-friendly environments and beautiful views of Puget Sound. Only minutes from downtown, this three bedroom townhome is in a prime location.

One of its unique features is how every bedroom contains its own bathroom and there is also an extra powder room on the main floor. Also, the kitchen is completely updated with stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and cherry cabinetry.

The backyard is completely fenced off and offers a cozy patio. It is a perfect area to start a garden as it receives great sun exposure. There is an abundance of street-parking around the unit, not to mention the one-car garage that is attached.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity. If you are interested in viewing this unit or getting more information, please visit www.ewingandclark.com.

Do you find yourself stumped every year, scrambling around to try and find the perfect gift for your Mother, who seems to already have everything you can imagine? Do you wind up getting something safe and uninspiring year after year, resorting to a 99 cent card and hand written poem you have stored on your computer’s hard drive? I can safely assume we’ve all been guilty at one point in time of last minute shopping when we’re down to the wire and wind up with an impulse buy, maybe something that you yourself would enjoy a little more than Mom. This year it might be time to plan a week or two ahead, and get your Mother something unexpected. Here is a list of things you might find inspiring to get for her this Mother’s Day weekend:

1. Is she a fabulous cook? Whether she needs it or not, a cooking class from Seattle Hipcooks in South Lake Union might be the perfect treat.

2. Does your mom love jewelry and recycling? why not get her a recycled sterling silver necklace from Uncommon Goods.

The much anticipated Taste of Washington is here this weekend! Two days filled with countless tastes from over 200 wineries all over Washington State. Held at the convention center, this year’s Taste of Washington will allow attendees to sample some of the finest wines they already love, and try something completely new and unheard of. Navigating the list of vendors might be somewhat of a struggle, not to mention all of the amazing restaurant vendors that will be providing yummy samples of their finest bites, so if you’re planning on attending, be sure to make the most out of your two days. Wines will be uncorked tomorrow starting at 2pm for the public, and 1pm for the VIP list. There will be seminars presented by restaurateurs, sommeliers, and sponsors. Canalis, the 2011 Washington Wine Restaurant of the year, is presenting a food and wine pairing seminar, forking over their best kept secrets on the best wine to pair with your meals. If you missed any of your favorite wineries on Saturday, don’t stress because you’ll be able to repeat your entire experience Sunday afternoon with a 2nd day of sipping and sampling the best of the Northwest. You can even attend Tom Douglas‘ seminar on Sunday, (also a food and wine pairing class) and afterwards head over to the Viking Chef’s stage and watch him slave away in the kitchen to create one of his famed dishes right before your eyes. For more information, or to order tickets now visit the Taste of Washington.

When most people think of St Patrick’s Day, we associate it with a cold pint of Guinness, and a lot of green food coloring and attire. But this year on March 17th, a local Magnolia Pub is pulling out all the stops to create a white table cloth event for diners on this festive St Patrick’s Day. Mulleady’s Irish Pub is putting together a 3 course prix fix menu of traditional Irish cuisine, including champ croquettes, a lamb mushroom stew, and of course a decadent portion of corned beef. When the term “Irish Pub” is thrown around, one can usually assume the stereotypes will follow, but this Magnolia gem is aiming to standout among the others on this festive holiday weekend.

There are several well known outdoor works of art like the Olympic Sculpture Park, and other murals around the Seattle area that are pleasant for the surround community members and those passing through. But now the SDOT is suggesting that these murals can hold a whole new purpose, and informing Seattle communities that painting murals near intersections can slow traffic when there are no stop signs, or yield signs in sight.

The SDOT is encouraging community members to apply for mural funding and submit designs for approval, with at least 60% of members in the community in agreeance with the mural. First, members must submit an area for approval that has no nearby traffic control devices and the area will be reviewed to determine if a project is feasible. Once the area is approved, residents in the community can work out a design, and approval may take up to two weeks. For more information on how to get a mural submitted in your neighborhood, click here.

Later this year, Magnolia Manor Park will be the official site for a brand new off-leash dog area. Funding for the project has originally allowed for a 16,000 sf OLA area, (off leash area) which is relatively small in comparison to most dog parks in Seattle; but Magnolia dog owners are petitioning for a bigger space. The updated plan is set for 21,000 sf, including a small dog area & “chuck it” throw zone. Think more Pet Palace vs. Pee Patch. Magnolia Dog owners have come together on the Manor Park’s Website to recruit more funding for their fuzzy friends, and they need more help to make it happen. If you’d like to join the cause, find more information to donate here.

After the cannons were fired, and the flag was taken down, Seattle Army base Fort Lawton was officially decommissioned this past Saturday. It was here that in 1944, 28 African American soldiers were court marshaled for allegedly hanging an Italian prisoner of war. In 2008, Fort Lawton was also the setting where the remaining surviviving soldiers were honored after their convictions were lifted, because they hadn’t been given a fair trial.

On Saturday afternoon’s decommission ceremony, politicians and generals said their goodbyes and many people attending took the opportunity to tour the old fort in Magnolia. Fort Lawton was built in 1901, to keep an eye out on the surging labor boom. The federal government still owns the fort property, but the City of Seattle will have the opportunity to take over. The City has already claimed ownership of a chunk of the original Fort Lawton property, including what is now Discovery Park. Believe it or not the government has already tried to sell Fort Lawton to the city of Seattle once previously in 1938 for $1; City declined due to lack of funding for the property upkeep. Maybe they’ll have better luck this year.

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Magnolia in a Nutshell

Magnolia is a Seattle neigborhood northwest of Downtown. It is the second largest Seattle neighborhood by area and is known for beautiful waterfront real estate and its family-oriented charm. It is also home to Seattle's largest park, Discovery Park, providing visitors amazing views of the Puget Sound and a looping hiking trail.